Tuesday 1 December 2009 05.00 EST
First published on Tuesday 1 December 2009 05.00 EST

Tens of thousands of Tamil refugees are free to leave the region where they have been held since the civil war ended six months ago providing they register with authorities so their movements can be monitored, Sri Lanka said today.

The government said all 128,000 men, women and children who were displaced in the final stages of the conflict will be free to leave guarded camps in Vavuniya district, 160 miles north of the capital, Colombo.

More than 5,700 people were bussed from the camp today, initially for 10 days, in what United Nations officials said was a "step forward from having people encased in barbed wire".

There have been two types of released person: one appears to be families who will be allowed to return to their birthplaces and have to make regular reports to the police; the other is a group of people who are expected to return to the camps after a set period of time.

The UN gave a cautious welcome to the move.

"We see it as a form of release … which is not ideal but is a step forward from having people encased in barbed wire," said Gordon Weiss, a spokesman for the UN in Colombo. "We do expect everyone to be allowed home by the deadline set by the government of 31 January."

The camps, which have been criticised by the UN and human rights groups, were once home to 280,000 people after the army encircled and destroyed the Tamil Tiger leadership in May. Under intense international pressure, Colombo promised to close the camps, where people live in cramped and squalid conditions, by the end of January.

However, human rights activists remain critical of the Sri Lankan government for asking Tamils to report to police stations. "If you have to keep presenting yourself to the authorities then how can that be termed freedom of movement?" asked Suhas Chakma of Delhi's Asia Centre for Human Rights.

"Sri Lanka does not even have a human rights commission at the moment … so how can it be held accountable?"

The refugees were mostly from the Tamil minority – on whose behalf the Tamil Tiger separatists waged a decades-long civil war. The government said the displaced were detained because they needed to be screened. Parts of nothern Sri Lanka had also been heavily mined by the Tigers, and needed time to be cleared.

Other experts said the timing of the release is all about the forthcoming elections, in which Tamils are seen as an important constituency. The presidential election will be held on 26 January.

"The government needs these people home to vote, that is what this release programme is about," said one international analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.